Machine for bending edges of sheet metal plates



R. WIELAND 2,434,028

MACHINE FOR BENDING EDGES SHEET METAL PLATES Jan. 6, -1 948.

Filed March 29, 1945 3 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ROY WIELAND A T T'O/PNEV Jan. 6, 1948. R. WIELAND 2,434,023

' MACHINE FOR BENDING EDGES OF SHEET METAL PLATES Filed March 29, 1945 .5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. For WIELAND A T TOR/VEY Jan. 6, 1948. I R. WIELAND MACHINE FOR BENDING EDGES OF SHEET METAL PLATES Filed March 29, 1945 INVENTOR. ROY W/EL AND A TTORNE) Patented Jan. 6, 1948 MACHINE FOR BENDING EDGES OF SHEET METAL PLATES Roy Wieland, San Francisco, Calif.

Application March 29, 1945, Serial No. 585,543

1 Claim.

This invention relates to the forming of. sheet metal plates, particularly for use as fire coverings for wooden surfaces, and the principal object of the invention is to provide a method of bending the margins of the sheets quickly to the required form and a machine for carrying out the method.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description and accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a foot and hand v operated machine for carrying out the special margin bending or folding operations required. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the machine of Fig. 1 as taken through the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan section of the machin taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the upper part of the machine taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the die portions of the machine as of Fig. 4 shown clamped together upon the plate and with the plate side margins in the finally bent form required.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to that of Fig. 5 taken along the line 6--6 of Fig. 3 showing a longitudinal section through the die members and plate.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the completed plate as taken from the machine.

Fig. 8 is an end view of the plate of Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the plate blank showing its notched out corners.

Before describing the machine, attention is called to Fig. 7 which shows in perspective a flat sheet metal plate A with its margins variously bent up and down as required to interlock with similarly formed plates used in the sheet metal covering of wood, particularly fire doors, though it may be used for covering any desired flat surface.

The flat blank sheet metal plate before forming is as shown in Fig. 9, notched out at its four corners as at l, 2, 3, 4 to the depth of the folded margin required, and the steps in forming the-- plate are as follows:

First, the right-hand margin of the plate is folded downwards and under along the line 5 to bring the edgefi flat under the plate to the line i.

, This is done on any folding machine.

Second, the sheet metal plate with its Wide under-folded right-hand margin is placed upon the lower horizontal die plate 8 of the machine with its margins overlapping the plate, the upper die plates 9 and II] are brought down upon the sheet metal plate, by pushing down the treadle ll of the machine with one foot of the operator to bend the rear margin down as at 36 in, Fig. .7 and clamp the plate, and while down lifting'the handl l2 to thereby swing up the several folding blades I3, [4 and I5 tofold the other three margins upwardly and finish the plate to the condition of Fig. 7.

With the above brief outline of the nature of the work to be done and the mechanical steps taken with the aid of the machine to accomplish it, the detailed construction and operation of the machine will be easily understood and is as follows:

The machine comprises a general frame preferably made of pieces of angle iron suitably secured together forming four legs l6 joined by longitudinal side members or rails I1, transversely extending rear members l8 and frontend transverse members l9. The legs are preferably provided with floor flanges 20. I

Extending across the front of the machine adjacent the floor is a treadle strip l.l secured at the forward ends of two arms 2| pivoted at their rear ends at 22 to a transversely extending bar 23 supported across and suitably secured to lower side rails H. The treadle is normally raised by a coiled tension spring 24. r

The upper ends of the rear legs lBproject above upper transverse members l8, while extending longitudinally between the upper ends of the legs are long angle bars 25 which arespaced to come within the legs and are pivoted to them on a transversely extending. rod 26 so as to form a tiltable frame. Secured to the forward end. of these bars 25 are the upper die plates!) and I0, and secured to the rearwardly extending ends of the bars is a counterweight 21 to overbalance the die plates and normally keep them lifted as shown in Fig. 1.

The lower die plate 8 is secured to the top of upper rails I! in position to cooperate with the upper die plates when the forwardend of the tiltable frame 25 is pulled down, and to accomplish which a pair of upwardly extending links 28 are pivoted at their lower ends at 29 to the treadle arms 2| and at their upper ends at- 3D to a bar 3| straddling across the tiltable frame members 25, so that upon pushing down on the treadle I l the upper die members will be forcibly pulled down upon the lower die members.

To align the-upper and lower die members laterally I provide a pair of vertical guides or angle bars with flat front faces 32 and longitudinally -extending confronting walls 33 which form guiding walls against opposite ends of a bar 34 welded across and projecting beyond the tiltable upper die frame members 25. These vertical guides are rigidly secured in place as by welding to transverse members l9 of the frame.

Die plates 8 and are substantially the same width as shown in Fig. but die plate 9 which is secured to upperplate l0 isrelatively thin and wider and overhangsi'both sides :of plate II! as at 9', and also 'is longer to overhang the forward end of plate H] as shown at 9", but upper plate ll! extends rearwardly beyond plate 9 and carries a cross bar portion I0 which projects downward beyond the upper surface of lower die plate 182150 as to form a rear downwardly bent margin 35 on the sheet metal plate A when the dies are closed, and as shown in Fig. 6 andwhere the cross bar portion [0 of the upper die is shown with its rear edge in contact with a fixed cross bar 31 which extends across and is rigidly secured to upper rails -llof thefr'ame, and which construction insures-member 10' coming down in the correct;p osition,and member '31 also forms a stop or rear guide *for'position'ingthe rear edge o'fthe sheet metal plate iA=-when placingfit in the machine.- -Preferably the standing edge portionof angle bar 31' '15 provided with-"two inverted U- shaped spaced strips of smooth metal 31"to function as stops in *placing the sheet metal plate A and cross *bar 1-0 is notched at its rear side to pass these stops.

To form the two side'folds1'3',-I4',and the-front end fold l5 ofthesh'eet 'metal'plate, three-pivoted folding blades [3, I 4, l5 are provided whichare operated by, lifting the handle 12; Blades 1-3 and M are respectively hingedly .pivoted to their adja'cent -frame members l1 'as'at-38 and 39 toswin as indicated "inFig. 4,, and similarly blade [5 is liinged y pivoted as at 40 to the upperztransversely extending angle bar 19 of the frame.

These folding blades are all operated in the proper, sequence as well as-to the proper degree of gswin'ging, by (the operator pushing the handle Ilupward. Handle." ispre'ferablya pipe roller free on, astay rod, .12 which is secured atits ends to .rearwardly extending side ,levers 42.and 42' which are pivoted at their-rear ends at '43 'to a transversely extending angle bar 44 welded to upperrails -lrl, and eac'hbivoted folding blade is .providedwith a;projecting arm engageable with thejhandleassenibly for operation thereby, thus blade l3lhas secured .to it an arm 45 which curves outward land downwardlylwhen the blades are open) over the left side lever .42 and under a rod 46 spaced alongthe edge of "lever 42 and welded at opposite ends theretoto form an open slot 41 ,in which the curved ,arm 45.,slides as the handle .israised or lowered.

Blade l4 similarly is provided with a laterally extendingoperating arm 48 which, when the bladei'is open,.-lies,uponaplate 49 secured to right side alever42mas :s'hown in Ii.ig,.3 and is in turn aoverlapp'ed :by .an aarm ;5ll :sec'ured; at :one end as iatifil :to "plate 49,";andr which .members change their rlationzas the handle is lifted as shown from that o'f' Fig. eto'thatof :Fig. 5.

Blade is provided with a lateral "extension 35 whichf hasa backwardlybentheel 52 forming aaistop again'st thefront suifa'ceof left-hand guide 32 to hbldthe blade in open positiomand pro- 4 swing the blade l5 upward to form the marginal bend l5 of the sheet metal plate.

The two side bars 42, 42 of the handle are guided in swinging along the outer edges of vertical guides 32 and are limited in their travel by lower and upper stop lugs 54, 55 projecting laterally therefrom.

The curves and shapes of the various folding blade operating arms are such as to insure the margins of the plate A folding" to the positions shown in Fig. 7, margin I5 being first folded inward at a low angle but free from the body of plate A, margin l3 folded at a steeper angle for the major portion of its length and swerving outward near its forward end as indicated at 56 in the dra-wing-this is to provide for hooking the downwardly bent margin 36 of another plate hooking under margin l5 and after which the portion 56 is manually bent over it to the same slant as the remainder of the margin l3 to then have the margin 6 of another plate hookediover i3 in the process of laying the :plates. Margin 6' is for this purpose left slightly open as indicated in Fig. '7. The particular manner and approximate degree of these bends comprises an important feature of the invention as .it greatly reduces the time of hooking a large number of similar plates together in staggered overlapping relation in forming the fire-proof covering for wooden doors and otherstructures.

I should mention that when placing the blank sheets one at a time upon the lower diejplate its rear edge is 'abutted against stops '31, 31' and its right-hand edge .againstaside :stop 51 shown in Fi .3. 7

Also, that in :order .toihave the bent un'der edge 5' of the right hand margin 5 slightly ropened from the under siderof plate A, I permit .the originally flat underfolde'd .marg'into .open slightly upon the doubledmargin being'bent upward along the lines 59 to formithestanding margin 14", and .to this end the originally folded'under edge 6' is not supported 'tig'htly'below die plate Qduring the bending operation but is permitted to aback off or unwind as it were a'short distance-until it contacts azfixedistop bar shown at 582inFig. 5.

Regarding the bent over margin l3, inorder "to form the bend at "55, it suffices to terminate the folding blade [3 .at the pointwhere this outward bend begins by rounding off the end.

Removal of the finished plate ismade byiallowing the machine to. return to normal open position, as shown in Figure land the operator pulling the finished plate forward :and off of upper die plate 9.

Having thus described my inventionand manner of its operation and novel product and purpose thereof, what I claim'is:

A machine for bending the margins of asheet metal plate comprising a machine frame supporting a horizontal lower flat rectangular die-plate, a tiltable frame pivotally supported on the machine frame with one end overhanging the die plate, an upper rectangular die plate 'carriedby said end of the tiltable frame in position to come down upon the lower die plate, means normally raising the upper die platewith its frame, foot operated means for forcingthe upper die-plate downwardly to clamp a rectangular sheet "metal plate between the die plates, clearance b'eing provided around the die plates to permit the sheet metal to project beyond all four edges of the lower die plate, means carried'by the upper die plate arranged to force one 'overhangingmargin of the metal sheet downwardover one 'edge of'the lower die plate, folding blades movably mounted respectively along the other three edges of the lower die plate arranged to fold the other three overhanging margins of the sheet metal upwardly, and manually operated means arranged to operate said blades to various degrees respectively to variously fold the remaining three margins of the sheet metal upwardly, said upper die plate provided with a relatively thin plate extension overhanging said other three edges of the lower die plate, and over the edges of which extension the margins of the sheet metal are folded when the folding blades are operated.

ROY WIELAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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